


Of Love, Family and Decisions

by petalsandguitars



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Backstory, F/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 01:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13179912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalsandguitars/pseuds/petalsandguitars
Summary: Héctor and Imelda decide it's time for him to ask her father for her hand in marriage and they have to face the difficult decisions that ensue.





	Of Love, Family and Decisions

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my Tumblr post for this here: https://fedecolombo.tumblr.com/post/172669409987/.
> 
> Trade to the prompt of Héctor asking Imelda’s hand to her father.

The little town looked almost alight with the intense heat, just outside though, there was a small river and on the bank, stood three great trees.

And in the shade of those trees was a perfect hiding spot that two young people had chosen as what the boy’s best friend had come to call their “love nest”.

The boy, no older than seventeen, was hugging around the waist a beautiful girl, who was trying to keep on wearing a stoic expression.

‘Come Imelda, give me a smile,’ said the boy.

‘There’s nothing to smile about, _Héctor_ ,’ replied the girl, emphasizing on his name all of her severity, ‘my father will never give us permission.’

‘He will,’ said Héctor but his confidence visibly fell, ‘he must, when he sees how much I love you, he must.’

At that Imelda let a small smile cross her lips and Héctor bit on his lower lip with a big grin spreading on his face.

‘Ah! I see a smile there!’ said Héctor.

Imelda quickly raised a brow, ‘Where exactly?’

‘I’ll show you where!’ said Héctor and slipped his arms back from hugging her around the middle and had his hands on her hips to tickle her.

‘No! Héctor, I forbid you already!’ but a giggle broke her words.

Héctor let out a hearty laugh and stopped tickling his girlfriend when she put her hands on top of his.

His heart seemed to still skip a beat everytime she would touch him.

They laid back on the grass in the trees’ shade and Imelda hugged Héctor around the middle.

‘Oh Héctor, why did I have to fall in love?’ sighed Imelda, but her tone was sweet.

‘I don’t know,’ said Héctor softly, caressing her hair, ‘but I’m glad you did.’

‘Yes,’ Imelda said, ‘with some aspiring musician on top of that!’ she looked up at him and she was grinning.

‘Hey, I am a musician! And one day I’ll be the best there is, you’ll see,’ he said, sticking out his bottom lip like he used to do as a child.

Imelda touched her fingers to his cheek to have him turn to her and she smiled, ‘I know you will.’

Héctor softened instantly, not because of her words but because of her smile and they laid back in the grass for long hours before they headed back to Imelda’s parents’ home, together for the first time.

As Imelda’s was a polite and respectable family, Héctor was invited to stay for dinner but he sought out Imelda’s father right away, he couldn’t wait, he had to know.

‘Señor, I am really sorry to bother you at home,’ Héctor started, gulping, ‘but I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t a matter of the utmost importance to me,’ he paused, ‘and to your daughter.’

Imelda’s father gestured for his wife and three children to leave the living room and invited Héctor to sit opposite him in a comfortable-looking armchair.

‘Speak, dear boy,’ said he.

‘I humbly ask you for the hand of your daughter,’ said Héctor, as calmly as his nerves would allow him.

To his surprise, Imelda’s father smiled, ‘How old are you, boy?’

‘S – seventeen, señor,’ said Héctor.

‘You do know my daughter is eighteen,’ and though Héctor had opened his mouth to answer, her father continued, ‘and that she has been widely courted by boys much older than yourself and it is just out of sheer love for her that I do not wish to see her married to a person whom she does not love and these young men’s families do think me soft for that but I… _I_ had the luck of marrying the love of my life and I wish nothing else for my Imelda.’

‘Yes,’ said Héctor, at a loss, could it be that it was going to be this easy?

‘Imelda!’ the man called clearly but gently and the girl arrived at once, ‘Yes, Papá?’

‘Do you love this young man?’ he asked her.

‘I do,’ she said, her eyes were burning with sincerity and her father could see that.

‘And you, young man, do _you_ love my daughter?’ said Imelda’s father, looking back to Héctor.

‘More than anything in this life, señor,’ said Héctor with fire in his eyes, ‘I would die for her.’

Imelda’s father looked hard at Héctor then smiled and turned to Imelda, ‘I believe we might have finally found your future husband, my dear.’

Héctor stood up on reflex, smiling and breathing rather hard, ‘¡Gracias! ¡Gracias, señor!’

Imelda’s father chuckled, ‘One last question, young man, how do you plan to keep my daughter in good health… and wealth?’

‘Oh, I’m – I’m a musician,’ said Héctor.

‘I beg your pardon?’ said Imelda’s father.

‘I’m a musician,’ Héctor repeated, calmly.

‘Well then, I’m sorry… Héctor, was it? But we’ll have to change you of profession, I can’t have my daughter married to some – some mariachi playing on the corner of the road for coins.’

Héctor felt really affronted but bit on his lip to keep his cool, ‘I will provide for your daughter everything she might need, by being what I am.’

‘Son, there will be a marriage if and only if you agree to change your so-called profession,’ after a pause he continued, ‘didn’t you say you’d die for my girl? You aren’t even willing to get a proper job!’

Those words cut across Héctor like knives and right then he knew, he would have to make a choice, and he knew what he would choose.

Imelda knew too and she stepped between Héctor and her father before the young man could deliver his final answer.

‘No,’ she said simply.

‘What did you say?’ asked her father.

‘He will not stop being a musician, and we shall be married,’ said Imelda solemnly.

Her father stood up to face Imelda, ‘You will watch your tongue, young lady and you,’ he turned to Héctor, ‘you are no longer welcome, leave.’

Héctor looked at Imelda, any sign she would give him, he would follow her lead.

She nodded once and so Héctor turned back to Imelda’s father and bowed respectfully before leaving.

It looked like it was going to be a long and sleepless night when Héctor closed the door to his small apartment and headed to the bedroom.

He had wandered around town for hours before coming back and when he arrived, the sight he met couldn’t have surprised him more.

There, in his room, stood Imelda, dressed as if ready for travelling and packing all of Héctor’s belongings in a suitcase, another full one lay discared on the floor, _hers_.

‘Imelda?’ Héctor asked, approaching her.

‘We have to leave, I won’t marry someone who isn’t you and no,’ she said, even though she had her back on him and was still packing, she knew Héctor was about to protest, ‘my father won’t change his mind, so…’

She turned to look him in the eye, ‘So, if you’ll have me, Héctor, we have to leave, tonight, together.’

‘What about your family?’ asked Héctor.

‘I made a choice,’ said Imelda, that fiery expression on her face, ‘and I chose you.’

‘I could stop playing!’ protested Héctor, ‘Family is more important than music.’

Imelda smiled gently and reached out a hand, stroking his hair out of his face, ‘Héctor, asking you not to play would be like asking you not to breathe.’

Héctor looked away, feeling shame and gratefulness wash over him in waves.

Next thing he knew, Imelda had embraced him and he embraced her back.

‘We’re leaving,’ said Héctor.

‘Yes, my love, we are,’ said Imelda, ‘I don’t know where we could go but we’ll find a place.’

‘I know the place,’ said Héctor and they still didn’t pull back from one another, ‘we’ll go to Santa Cecilia, it’s where I was born… it’s a small town and my best friend is there, your father – your family… they’ll never find us there.’

He had said it as a sort of warning, as a way to make her change her mind and she knew.

‘We’re going, Héctor,’ she finally pulled back to look him in the eyes and placed the tips of her fingers over his lips for he was about to protest again, ‘because I love you more than anything in this life.’

And at that, Héctor knew, as she did, that the decision was final, and they left that same night, never to return.

Little did they know that Imelda’s parents died shortly afterwards in an accident, nor that after their burial, Imelda’s younger twin brothers had set out to look for her and they would have indeed found her but by the time they did, Héctor would have no longer been there.


End file.
